Thanks for the support, guys! I'm glad this story is intriguing some people. Every time i check the forum, the read counter is up. Over 2000 at the moment!
Yeah, the "monarchy affair" was a dirty trick. I feel like i had cheated a bit, in the sense that i have exploited an evident dumbness of the AS. But hey, don't they try to backstab me everytime? It's not my fault if they're so predictable...
Now let's go with the story. An anticipation: my objective is to hit the greek empire directly at its heart. What does it mean? In one word: Athens.
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50BC - My land has finally been cleared from all the american scum that pestered it.
Greek forces attack the golden hill of Romola. One spear falls, the other is redlined but wins. A greek swordsman is killed. One scumbag less. Good.
30BC - More Greek forces approaching. I count 4 hoplites, 5 swords and 1 warrior. Most of them are veterans. Alexandria is seriously threatened.
Finally, i've managed to get an alliance! Monty of the Aztecs accepts join my struggle against the greeks. I reward him with monarchy. Long live King Monty!
10BC - The Sacred Roman Kingdom is established.
With the benefits of Monarchy, my empire start to shine. More harassing troops are coming from Greece, but i manage to keep'em out with minimal losses. Who said catapults are useless?
Alas, there are also bad news. Thermopylae has grown culturally, so it blocked all my sea routes toward Pi-Ramesses, which acted as a link between me and the Aztecs. The exchange of Gems and Spices between me and Monty ends abruptly, and so my reputation is ruined.
In the following turns, there is a "harassing war" between me and Greece. Alex send hoplites and swords. I bomb them with catapult, then kill some with archers and legions. Some units are lost, but greek casualties are at least double than mine.
In 70AD a legionary company finally disembarks on the only iron mine of Greece, on a mountain SE of Sparta. Next turn the mine is pillaged. Bye bye iron for Alex. No more swordsman for him, at least for now. That legionary will be very hard to kill.
The attrition war continue. After a few turns, Monty withdraws from the alliance. Abe offers me peace, but refuses to give me Monotheism. No problem, Abe. Stay in war weariness for a few extra time. You are a non-issue for me.
Turn after turn, the number of legionary companies rise steadily. I'm amassing troops in the newly founded town of Forte Cucco. I'm going directly for the big fish, Athens.
Alex insists in sending harassing troops into my territory. The menace of Atzland is no more, so he can divert all his troops on the southern border. But swordsmen start lacking, and his source of iron is still occupied by me. Oddly, he made no effort to regain control of it. He's building archers instead.
Damn Monty! He has turned on me! That bastard joined America in an alliance against me. Well, he's already been beaten by Greece, and he doesn't seem to have the necessary strenght for menacing me. Anyway, better watch out for Jaguars coming from the north (in this game they replace swordsmen - their stats are 3/2/2).
270AD - 21 legionary companies march towards Athens.
Greeks try to skirmish. 2 swordsmen are sent to intercept my army. They are killed, but 2 legionary companies are damaged. They won't be of much help in the upcoming fight.
280AD - The Great Blood Bath.
After the biggest fight ever of the known world, Athens has fallen! I have lost the count of how many defending units it had. A bastard hoplite killed 3 legions in a row, and without losing a single hitpoint. Useless to say that my casualties were enormous. 13 legions killed and 6 wounded. Only 2 legions at full hitpoints. But i popped a leader, which i'll use to move my capital from Roma to Athens. It's the only effective way to prevent "dirty tricks" from the resident population.
With the Great Library and the Oracle in my hands, it's time to offer peace to Alex. I haven't too many forces to go on with the invasion, and he still has plenty of hoplites to harass me. But the main reason is that i'm way short in infrastructure. Except for Romola, I haven't been able to build a single marketplace yet. And I have absolutely no libraries. Elephantine is the only city in my empire with a colosseum.
So better being a peaceful builder (with an eye on military) at least for a few turns. My golden age has ended, so bye bye extra shield and money. Building anything will be slower.
In the meantime, i'll get rid of those 3 nasty Jaguar companies threatening Alexandria.
Peace between Roma and Sparta, the new greek capital, is signed. Alex is paying me 120 gold, his world maps and 3 fine greek workers. With Athens in my hands, i'm now 4th in population, and my military is still on par with Greece. Now it's time to send some suicide galleys around, and meet the 3 remaining civs.
Here's a shot just after the peace treaty:
they are 3 warriors and 1 spear - no much difference on the frontline.
), then i'll be back to play. This game is an amazing experience! I'm spending more time on it than in the GOTM 40. There's something appealing in starting with terrible odds and trying to win anyway...
